Negative-pole plate for storage batteries.



'WILLIAM MORRISDN, F DES MOINES, IOWA.

NEGATIVE POLE PLATE FOR STORAGE BATTERIES.

No Drawing.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 7, 1912.

Patented J My 15, 1913.

Serial No. 719,197.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WVILLIAM MonmsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Des Moines, in the county of Polk and State ing is a specification.

This invention relates 'to the production of an improved negative pole plate for storage batteries, in which tie plate will have a longer life and a higher efficiency than hasbeen obtained heretofore.

The object of my invention is to produce a negative pole plate in which the active material is in very perfect contact with the grid, reducing the liability of its separating and falling off from the grid, or losing its electrical contact by the shrinking that takes place during the life of the plate.

In carrying out the process, a mixture of litharge and red lead is made into a paste with sulfuric acid and pressed into a leadantimony grid in the well-known manner for making battery plates. The plate is now subjected to the customary oxidizing or forming action by connecting it as an anode 1n an electrolyte of dilute sulfuric acid, the strength of which is varied with the thickness and the density of the plate. After being fully charged and formed, a small quantity of an acid in which lead is soluble, or a salt containing such an acid radical, is added to the sulfuric acid, and the charging process continued until a portion of'the lead of the grid has been dissolved, the current assisting in carrying the solvent acid into thepores of the active material and in contact with the grid, thereby dissolving lead from the grid by the solvent acid electrochemically and forming a soluble lead compound. As the soluble lead compound forms, it permeates to a greater or less extent the pasted active material adjacent the grid, and reacts with the sulfuric acid present, forming lead sulfate, which in turn is electrolytically oxidized, thoroughly cementing the pasted active material with the grid. A part of the solvent acid lib erated from the soluble lead compound by sulfuric acid dissolves more lead from the grid, forming more lead sulfate, which in its turn is oxidized, bindingthe active material and the grid still more firmly.

The sulfate is preferably'oxidized by the current. to lead peroxid, forming a peroxid binder between the grid and the pasted ac tive material, the binder extending to a greater or less depthin the mass of the active material, and thoroughly enmeshing the particles of the latter.

Should the electrolyte contain too much solvent acid, the electrode aftersufricient lead sulfate has been formed, should be transferred to a separate electrolyte in which the lead sulfate is preferably oxidized electrolytically to pcroxicl, or it may be reduced to metallic spongy lead direct electrolytically, and the solvent acid remaining in the plate is substantially entirely decomposed by the electrolysis. I prefer,howcver, to add substantially the right quantity of solventacid to the electrolyte in the first instance, in order that the decomposition of the solvent acid will terminate when a sufficient qauntity of lead sulfate has been formed, so as to continue the oxidation in the same acid. It is preferable that the-charging process continue until all the sulfate has been oxidized to peroxid, and that no sulfate remain in contact with the grid.

While I prefer to use the method above described, I may add the solvent acid in the beginning, and proceed with the oxidation of the pasted active material and the formation of lead sulfate binder from .the grid simultaneously. Another method of procedure is to immerse the plate, either before or after the oxidation of the pasted active material, in the solvent acid separately, until enough has been absorbed to dissolve a sufiicient quantity of lead from the grid, and then in'nnerse the saturated grid in the sulfuric acid electrolyte and complete the process. Still another method is to im mcrse the pasted plate either before or after the preliminary oxidation of the pasted active material, in a solution of the solvent 'acid or irlt containing the acid radical. of the solvent acid until a suflicient quantity of the solvent acid or its equivalent I has been absorbed by the plate, then removing and immersing the plate in sulfuric acid to precipitate the dissolved lead as lead sulfate, then electrochemically oxidizing the lead sulfate to lead peroxid to form the binding agent.

I have stated that I use an acid in which lead is soluble for the corrosion of the grid; for practical reasons I prefer to use nitric acid as the solvent acid.

j At the completion of he above processes,

the plate is suitably reduced to metallic spongy lead as a cathode in an electrolyte of sulfuric acid, the electrolysis preferably being carried to excess to decompose all traces" of solvent acid.- The plate may'n'ow be placed in a storage battery as a negative pole plate.

I claim:

1. A negative-pole plate for storage bat teries, comprising a grid, a coating of pasted active material thereon, and a bond of active material electrochemically formed in situfrom the id interpenetrating and uniing said paste active material and the gri 2. The'process of forming negative-pole plates for storage batteries, which comprises adding to a pasted plate a reagent capable of dissolving matter fromthe grid, dissolving matter from said grid, precipi tating said dissolved matter, thereby forming between the grid and the active material a binding agent, which binds the active matter from the grid, dissolvin material to the grid, and passing a current through an electrolyte with said plate as an electrode.

3. The process of forming negative-pole plates for storage batteries, which coin-- prises adding to a pasted plate a reagent' capable of dissolving and precipitating and precipitating matter from said grid, thereby forming between the grid and the active.

' reducing said plate to form a negative-pole plate.

l 5. The process of forming negative-pole plates for storage batteries, comprising the steps of applying material to become active to a grid, electrochemically forming the plate in an electrolyte, dissolving matter V from the grid electrochemically, and then forming a binding agent from said dissolved matter.

6. The process of tormingnegative-pole' plates for storage batteries, comprising the steps of impregnating a pasted plate with a solvent for matter of the grid, passing a current through an electrolyte rom the grid as an anode, thereby dissolvi and oxidizing matter from -the grid, sai dis- 'solved and oxidized matter binding the at: 'tive material to the grid.

steps of pasting material-to become activeon a gridthereby forming a plate, oxidizingthe material to become active, immersing the oxidized plate in an electrol te containing a solvent for material of t e grid, and forming between the grid and the active material a bonding agent from the matter dissolved from said grid.

9. The process of forming negative-pole plates for storage batteries, comprising impregnating a pasted plate-With a solvent for matter in the grid, passing a current through an electrolyte from the grid as anode, thereby dissolving and oxidizing matter from the grid, said dissolved and oxidized matter binding the active material to the grid, and reducing the active material and binding matter to form the negative-pole plate.

10. The process of forming negative'pole plates for storage batteries, comprising impregnating a pasted active material plate with a reagent containing nitric acid, passing a current through an electrolyte from the grid as an anode, thereby dissolving matter from the grid, precipitating the dissolved matter within the pores of the pasted plate thereby forming between the gridand the activematerial a binding agent, OXldlZ- ing the binding agent, and reducing the active material and binding agent to form a negative-pole plate.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature I in presence of two-witnesses.

WILLIAM MORRISON. Witnesses O. W. FOWLER, J. H. BRIoKEizsrEIN. 

